I got my Kickstarter copy of "Epic" this week. It's a very Magic: The Gathering-like game with a few salient differences, and a much less pronounced collectible element.
I should like Magic; I like this kind of game, I like the theme, I like the complexity, I like the art, I have friends who play the game, etc. But, I don't. Or rather every time I've tried (which has been repeatedly for all the reasons above), it's fallen flat for me. I'm not fond of collectible/money-hole aspect of it, but while that's a slight deterrent, it's never been enough to turn me away from a game I really like (eg, Heroscape). Something about the mechanics of Magic just don't do it for me. Maybe eventually it will click.
The good news is that I really like Epic. It's very MTG-like, so if someone disliked Magic, they're unlikely to like this, but I've been really enjoying it despite the similarities and being "meh" on Magic. Epic plays well with randomly dealt decks for each player and has draft formats as well.
It's very "swingy". That is, there's lots of big creatures with a lot of impact, there's a lot of board clearing effects, and there's a lot of other dramatic effects. But, they all seem interesting and the effect is not overly chaotic. The rules as written leave something to be desired, assuming a lot of MTG context that I only partially have, but it's not bad. There are lots of interesting combos in the game and it plays quickly.
There also seems to fewer cases where both have creatures/champions out and neither wants to attack than Magic, which always irked me as a gameplay element. There's also not the monotonic gradual curve of the mana ramp from Magic. Certainly building up a good hand can yield a good ramp, but there's no sense that the first few turns are simply tempos and the board "resets" and other mechanics mean there's more of a feeling of ebb and flow.
I'll be interested to see the general reaction from more familiar CCG players. Certainly there's a lot of disappointed reaction from folks who were hoping it would be another Star Realms (which I also like a lot) but I knew this wasn't going to be that.
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/175621/epic
I should like Magic; I like this kind of game, I like the theme, I like the complexity, I like the art, I have friends who play the game, etc. But, I don't. Or rather every time I've tried (which has been repeatedly for all the reasons above), it's fallen flat for me. I'm not fond of collectible/money-hole aspect of it, but while that's a slight deterrent, it's never been enough to turn me away from a game I really like (eg, Heroscape). Something about the mechanics of Magic just don't do it for me. Maybe eventually it will click.
The good news is that I really like Epic. It's very MTG-like, so if someone disliked Magic, they're unlikely to like this, but I've been really enjoying it despite the similarities and being "meh" on Magic. Epic plays well with randomly dealt decks for each player and has draft formats as well.
It's very "swingy". That is, there's lots of big creatures with a lot of impact, there's a lot of board clearing effects, and there's a lot of other dramatic effects. But, they all seem interesting and the effect is not overly chaotic. The rules as written leave something to be desired, assuming a lot of MTG context that I only partially have, but it's not bad. There are lots of interesting combos in the game and it plays quickly.
There also seems to fewer cases where both have creatures/champions out and neither wants to attack than Magic, which always irked me as a gameplay element. There's also not the monotonic gradual curve of the mana ramp from Magic. Certainly building up a good hand can yield a good ramp, but there's no sense that the first few turns are simply tempos and the board "resets" and other mechanics mean there's more of a feeling of ebb and flow.
I'll be interested to see the general reaction from more familiar CCG players. Certainly there's a lot of disappointed reaction from folks who were hoping it would be another Star Realms (which I also like a lot) but I knew this wasn't going to be that.
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/175621/epic
I got my Kickstarter copy of "Epic" this week. It's a very Magic: The Gathering-like game with a few salient differences, and a much less pronounced collectible element. I should like Magic; I like this kind of game, I like the theme, I like the complexity, I like the art, I have friends who play the game, etc. But, I don't. Or rather every time I've tried (which has been repeatedly for all the reasons above), it's fallen flat for me. I'm
Colin McMillen - 2015-09-13 23:12:13-0400
Interesting. I saw this at the Boston indie game festival this weekend, but didn't really take a look, as two-player combat-based card games aren't really a thing I get the chance to play much.
Matthew Gray - 2015-09-13 23:22:37-0400
I've been throwing it in my bag and would be happy to play at lunch or end of day sometime. It's fast, even with learning. Faster for people familiar with MTG concepts.
Chris Shabsin - 2015-09-14 07:48:06-0400
I'd be interested in giving it a go sometime as well.
Colin McMillen - 2015-11-01 14:37:53-0500
I also have a copy now (finally came out for non-Kickstarter people) and also intend to carry it around.